The present invention relates to a bookbinding apparatus and an image forming system which accumulate a plurality of sheets so as to form a bundle of sheets (hereafter, referred simply as a sheet bundle) and join a cover sheet to one side of the sheet bundle so as to produce a booklet.
There have been well known bookbinding apparatuses and image forming systems which bind a plurality of sheets on which images are formed by copying machines, printers and the like into a booklet with a simple way. Here, the outline of a general bookbinding process in these bookbinding apparatuses is explained. First, a plurality of sheets on which images are formed are accumulated and aligned so as to form a sheet bundle. Next, an adhesive, such as a paste, is coated to one side of the sheet bundle. And, a cover sheet is conveyed and stopped at a specified position, and the cover sheet is joined to the adhesive-coated side of the sheet bundle. In this way, the plurality of sheets and the cover sheet are made into one body, whereby a booklet is produced.
In the image forming system described in Patent Document 1, an image forming apparatus and a bookbinding apparatus are connected to each other. Sheets on which images are formed by the image forming apparatus are conveyed from the image forming apparatus to the bookbinding apparatus, and then the bookbinding apparatus produces a booklet promptly.
[Patent documents 1] Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2004-209746